Gretchen Rossi Explains Why She Doesn’t Want To Return To ‘The Real Housewives Of Orange County’

Gretchen Rossi has been facing rumors of a potential return to her full-time role on The Real Housewives of Orange County for the past few years, but according to a new interview, she doesn’t want to go back to the Bravo TV reality series.

Days ago, Rossi explained to Scheana Marie on her podcast, Scheananigans, that she and her fiance, Slade Smiley, are no longer in a place where they would be open to exposing themselves to all of the drama a reality show brings.

“For a minute there I thought there might be a possibility that I would consider it, but I think we’re at the stage now in our life where it’s not really where we’re at anymore in our life,” she explained, according to a report from Reality Tea on June 26. “I feel like we’ve grown past the show.”

According to Rossi, she feels that if she and Smiley were to return to The Real Housewives of Orange County and continue to chronicle their lives and drama with their co-stars for the show, they would be walking back into a place of negativity. So, rather than go back to that ugly place, the couple has decided to devote their time and energy to some really exciting projects they currently have in the works.

Rossi and Smiley are currently working on a number of behind-the-camera projects and hope to begin producing in the near future. As Rossi explained, it’s been exciting to continue their lives in entertainment without having to be in front of the camera and exposed to the ongoing drama of The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Smiley also opened up to the Vanderpump Rules star about why he and Rossi wouldn’t be interested in a Bravo TV return, explaining that because the series has become so popular, many of the women who come aboard act out of desperation to stay relevant and keep the paychecks rolling in.

“It really kind of starts to erode away the true reality of what’s happening because you have these people that are just so desperate at times,” he explained. “Here’s the sad thing, too: they’re easily replaced because there’s somebody right behind you willing to say something, cause controversy or make something up.”

Although Gretchen Rossi has no plans to go back to The Real Housewives of Orange County, she has remained in touch with a number of her former co-stars, including Vicki Gunvalson, Lizzie Rovsek, Lydia McLaughin, and Peggy Sulahian.

According to Rossi, she and Kelly Dodd were once close, but after Dodd put her baby efforts on blast, they had a falling out. Then, after Dodd apologized for her statements, Rossi learned that she had been speaking badly about her to one of their mutual friends.

The Real Housewives of Orange County returns to Bravo TV for Season 13 on July 16 at 9 p.m.